Declining Consumer Trust: The Biggest Challenge for Social Media Marketing

Integral Ad Science (Nasdaq: IAS), a digital media quality company, has released its Industry Pulse Report 2023. A central finding of this: Media pundits* see dwindling consumer confidence as the biggest challenge when it is advertising on social media platforms.

Despite these concerns, however, the vast majority of them continue to rely on social media advertising to take advantage of the attractive reach and large activation potential of these platforms.

“Our study shows that 77% of media professionals agree that declining consumer trust in major social media platforms could negatively impact their media spend,” said Khurrum Malik, Chief Marketing Officer at IAS . “At the same time, however, marketers continue to rely on social media reach and engagement. This tension between belief and concern underscores the need for greater transparency for social media advertisers.”

Challenges for social platforms

• More than nine in ten respondents (91%) plan to advertise on social platforms in 2023. At the same time, the study shows a decrease in monetization intent across all platforms, except for a slight increase for WhatsApp (2% every year).
• Two-thirds of respondents believe a lack of transparency will have a negative impact on average spend.

Digital audio and game advertising will continue to transform the digital media landscape in 2023

• For the majority of media pundits (70 percent), the number one priority for 2023 is for audio listeners to continue switching to digital formats.
• Industry experts see risks to media quality: Most respondents are concerned about ad fraud (66%) and brand risks (55%) in digital audio.
• Publishers are optimistic about video game advertising, with over a third (34%) seeing the potential for new opportunities in the coming year. Nearly one in five media professionals (19%) plan to prioritize advertising in gaming environments over the next year.

Other important results are:

• Growing demand for CTV: Nearly half of media experts* (44 percent) believe CTV and digital video have the greatest potential for innovation in the coming year.
• Contextual targeting as a solution to privacy issues: Nearly 6 in 10 respondents (58%) will prioritize contextual targeting to address privacy issues and clear cookies to continue targeting their desired audience at scale.
• Mobile prioritization continues: Mobile continues to be a priority for nearly half of media pundits (47%). Considering that in 2023 consumers will spend more than 4.5 hours a day with their mobile devices, this is only the logical consequence.

The current IAS Industry Pulse Report shows the most important trends and new technologies that will shape the advertising industry in 2023. In collaboration with YouGov, IAS surveyed more than 350 digital media professionals, including digital advertising professionals from brands, agencies and publishers, as well as ad technology providers.

www.integralads.com/de